Southern Species From the Biodiversity Hotspot of Central Chile: A Source of Color, Aroma, and Metabolites for Global Agriculture and Food Industry in a Scenario of Climate Change

Abstract

Two interesting plants within the Chilean flora (wild and crop species) can be found with a history related to modern fruticulture: Fragaria chiloensis subsp. chiloensis (Rosaceae) and Vasconcellea pubescens (Caricaceae). Both species have a wide natural distribution, which goes from the Andes mountains to the sea (East-West), and from the Atacama desert to the South of Chile (North-South). The growing locations are included within the Chilean Winter Rainfall-Valdivian Forest hotspot. Global warming is of great concern as it increases the risk of losing wild plant species, but at the same time, gives a chance for usually longer term genetic improvement using naturally adapted material and the source for generating healthy foods. Modern agriculture intensifies the attractiveness of native undomesticated species as a way to provide compounds like antioxidants or tolerant plants for climate change scenario. F. chiloensis subsp. chiloensis as the mother of commercial strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) is an interesting genetic source for the improvement of fruit flavor and stress tolerance. On the other hand, V. pubescens produces fruit with high level of antioxidants and proteolytic enzymes of interest to the food industry. The current review compiles the botanical, physiological and phytochemical description of F. chiloensis subsp. chiloensis and V. pubescens, highlighting their potential as functional foods and as source of compounds with several applications in the pharmaceutical, biotechnological, and food science. The impact of global warming scenario on the distribution of the species is also discussed.

Postharvest Treatment of Hydrogen Sulfide Delays the Softening of Chilean Strawberry Fruit by Downregulating the Expression of Key Genes Involved in Pectin Catabolism

“…It is worth noting that F. chiloensis is the maternal parental of F. × ananassa and the above-described differences might be derived from the genetic cross during the mating process between the parental strawberry species, i.e., F. chiloensis × F. virginiana [ 1 ]. Alternatively, the lower dosage of H 2 S required for decay control in F. chiloensis could also be explained by its rusticity, as it is still a native undomesticated species that preserves its natural defensive strategies [ 4 ].…”

“…[ 1 ]. The Chilean strawberry is a non-climacteric fruit that possesses remarkable organoleptic properties, such as good taste, aroma, nutritional value and an exotic white fruit appearance, having a great potential to become a new exotic berry fruit for the worldwide market [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]. Besides, F. chiloensis fruit is emerging as a new model for studying several ripening-associated processes in strawberries [ 5 , 6 ], such as anthocyanin biosynthesis and plant cell wall disassembly [ 7 , 8 ].…”

Metabolomics-Based Evaluation of Crop Quality Changes as a Consequence of Climate Change

“…Although stress tolerance mechanisms are highly complex, advances in functional genomics, including transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics together with other high-throughput phenotyping platforms, plant modeling, and data processing, as we presented in this review, have provided new insights for elucidating the underlying novel genomic region(s), candidate gene(s), gene networks, novel proteins and metabolites, and other signaling molecules contributing to stress tolerance. However, there is a need to explore the germplasm strategically, including wild relatives, landraces, and gene pools to discover new sources of variations that could further identify new adaptive traits contributing to plant adaptations to new environments to develop alternative and competitive strategies that would be a great help to mitigate climate change impacts [ 148 ].…”

ABA Speeds Up the Progress of Color in Developing F. chiloensis Fruit through the Activation of PAL, CHS and ANS, Key Genes of the Phenylpropanoid/Flavonoid and Anthocyanin Pathways

“…Fragaria chiloensis (L.) Mill. is a native wild berry species from Chile, dispersed along the central-south part of Chile between the Andes and the coastal mountains [ 2 ]. Two botanical forms have been identified in F. chiloensis (L.) Mill.…”

“…subsp. chiloensis f. chiloensis ) has been cultivated by pre-Columbian populations, and through traditional selection methods, plants producing big fruits of white/pink color have been selected [ 2 ]. This non-climacteric fruit is appreciated in the market for its excellent organoleptic attributes such as taste and aroma, in addition to its exotic white-pink color.…”